Tending to the Past
Tending to the Past
Selfhood and Culture in Children's Narratives about Slavery and Freedom
In many popular depictions of Black resistance to slavery, stereotypes around victimization and the heroic efforts of a small number of individuals abound. These ideas ignore the powers of ordinary families and obscure the systematic working of racism. Tending to the Past: Selfhood and Culture in Children’s Narratives about Slavery and Freedom examines Black-authored historical novels and films for children that counter this distortion and depict creative means by which ordinary African Americans survived slavery and racism in early America.
Tending to the Past argues that this important, understudied historical writing—freedom narratives—calls on young readers to be active, critical thinkers about the past and its legacies within the present. The book examines how narratives by children’s book authors, such as Joyce Hansen, Julius Lester, Marilyn Nelson, and Patricia McKissack, and the filmmakers Charles Burnett and Zeinabu irene Davis, were influenced by Black cultural imperatives, such as the Black Arts Movement, to foster an engaged, culturally aware public. Through careful analysis of this rich body of work, Tending to the Past thus contributes to ongoing efforts to construct a history of Black children’s literature and film attuned to its range, specificity, and depths.
Tending to the Past provides illuminating interpretations that will help scholars and educators see the significance of the freedom narratives’ reconstructions in a neoliberal era, a time of shrinking opportunities for many African Americans. It offers models for understanding the powers and continuing relevance of the Black child’s creative agency and the Black cultural practices that have fostered it.
In this innovative content analysis of historical novels and films for Black children, Chandler asks and answers a specific question: How have Black writers since 1980 constructed a history of personal and social survival under conditions of slavery and in the post-emancipation period? . . . Every children’s librarian should acquire a copy of this book for their collections, as should all academic libraries.
Tending to the Past is a groundbreaking study of the construction of history in texts by Black authors for young people. The quality and depth of analysis offered by Karen Michele Chandler is unparalleled.
Karen Michele Chandler is associate professor and director of undergraduate studies in the University of Louisville’s Department of English. She has published many articles on American, African American, and children’s literature and film.
